Sunday, January 10, 2010

Your Creative Bucket List

Did you see the movie “The Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? The movie wasn’t much, but the concept is great: What things do you really, truly want to do before you kick the bucket?

Well, my friend Amy just introduced me to the concept of a quilting bucket list! What are those quilts you absolutely, positively can’t die without doing first!? It’s kind of a wish list, Amy says. “Techniques, styles you've always been meaning to do, or an extra special project. My friends and I bring our list to shows and meetings so we can add to it as we see new things that just need to be on the list. It’s a great way to prioritize all those things we want to do and put some structure around it.” She’s starting a notebook of motivation, containing pictures of quilts and projects she likes. “It’s kind of cool and surprising how things seem when you commit them to writing.”

Makes you think, huh—and dig through your fabric and pattern stash for those lost projects!

If you’re not a quilter, well then broaden the concept to creativity in general. What creative projects do you want to pursue? What pieces of yourself do you want to leave behind…a scrapbook, a collage, a knitted sweater or scarf, an embroidered wall-hanging, a painting, a poem.

Now that we've rounded the corner of a new year (and, woo hoo, a new decade after a lousy, lousy one), what projects are you going to put on the top of your to-do list and resolve to finish this year?!

My list is too long to mention. And actually writing it down would frustrate me even more that I haven't touched any of the creative projects I went out and bought materials for. Maybe your post will give me the impetus I need to start that teapot-project (remember that, Nancy??)

I have to admit that I cried during the "Bucket List," even though it's a sappy, sappy movie. This year I really want to finish the ebook I've been working out and finally get it out there for people to buy!

I love this. I feel like a lot of the creative projects I most enjoy come from this place, of gathering up this and that, things I've started but just didn't "send me" so to speak. I love reading about it here.

Sounds like I need to see the movie. My mother is an avid quilter and I'm always amazed and impressed with her work. Although I am lousy with needle and thread I did sign up to help at a quilting bee that's creating blankets for a humanitarian group later this month.

I think about this a lot, now that I have reached sixty, and approach it in a different way. The writing projects that I never finished, all my precious babies, may not be born if I don't give them priority.

I don't quilt but god, do I ever have some creative projects I'd like to pursue. One is a long nonfiction book project and the other a kids' chapter book. I often wish I were independently wealthy so I could just work on them. But having to make a living is no excuse. I need to just sit down and get to them both before I kick the bucket!

I love this! I actually have an ever-shifting bucket list that includes things like hang gliding, swing dancing, etc. But I think it could definitely be beneficial to create a separate, creative bucket list: one that contains the publications I'd most like to write for, the writing projects I'd most like to complete, etc. I'm a huge fan of big dreams and even bigger goals. :)

Most of us creatives have some form of Ideaphoria--I just did a teleclass on this and plan to do a workshop on it soon. So we have too many ideas, have a hard time chooosing among them, AND feel a loss when we have to let go of one or more of our precious inspirations--it's a little like a death. It can be helpful to keep a "when I can get to it list" of these ideas and review them once or twice a year, so we don't lose the ideas, but choose we must. You said it, we must decide what to focus on first and complete it, and then we can choose again what's next. But never forget that being able to have lots of ideas and see oportunities everywhere is a wonderful gift--it just has to be managed.Gail McMeekin,Creativity Coachwww.creativesuccess.com

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I have not seen the movie, The Bucket List, but I feel that it WOULD be a great idea to make a Creative Bucket List. I already have a couple of things I want to list there - finish my book, and my big weaving. After that, do at least one painting, and some more drawings. And... I know I have some more things to add. Thanks for the great idea.

My bucket list is all about travel. By the way, I loved the movie. And like another 60ish commentator who posted here, I feel the clock ticking. Looking forward to seeing your quilts when you post pictures. You will, right?

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About Me

Email: nancymonson@earthlink.net
I am a freelance writer and editor, as well as an avid quilter/crafter. My work has been published in over 30 national magazines and newsletters, including Glamour, In Touch Weekly, More, Quilter's Home, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, Shape, Today's Health & Wellness, Through the Needle, and Woman's Day. I specialize in craft/creativity, lifestyle, relationship, health, and nutrition topics.
I am the author of Craft to Heal: Soothing Your Soul with Sewing, Painting, and Other Pastimes (Hats Off Books, 2005), a self-help book about the therapeutic benefits of pursuing a hobby.